https://www.incomeinvestors.com/retire-187-percent-wealthier-with-dividend-stocks/27304/
Retire 187% Wealthier with Dividend Stocks
Robert Baillieul, B.Comm.
Income Investors
2017-08-14T06:00:23Z
2017-08-14 12:07:54 dividendsretire on dividendsreasons to invest in dividendsretirement dividendsdividend stocks for retirementDividends, in seems, don't just make for a nice income stream. They make for better companies. And this articles lists 7 reasons to why are dividends your best investments.
Dividend Stocks,News,Retirement
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Dividends: Yes, They Matter

Here was cold, hard cash arriving in my bank account each month. It was like getting a summer job, minus the burger flipping. Who wouldn’t love that?

Today, however, I see dividends as far more than a second income. They have become a way of doing business. Short of a polygraph test, dividends represent the only way we can tell if management cares about our interests.

That integrity can make a big difference in your returns. From 1972 to 2015, a $100.00 investment in the S&P 500 would have grown to $2,133. A portfolio of firms that initiated or increased their dividends would have grown to $6,136 over the same period. (Source: “The Power of Dividends: Past, Present, and Future,” Hartford Funds, last accessed August 13, 2017.)

In other words, you could’ve retired 187% wealthier by owning dividend growth stocks. Distributions, it seems, don’t just make for a nice income stream. They make for better companies.

Here’s why:

1. Dividends Inspire Confidence: Accounting rules leave a lot of wiggle room. While you don’t often see outright fraud, firms can get “aggressive” in tracking their bottom line. Dividends, however, require real cash. You can play games with sales and profits, but it’s tough to fake money in the bank.

2. Dividends Beat Stock Buybacks: Buybacks usually get announced during a boom. But when the cycle turns and markets crash, these plans get shelved. Call me old-fashioned, but buying low and selling high sounds like a better approach, not the other way around. It makes far more sense, one would think, to pay out a steady dividend each quarter.

3. Dividends Encourage Honesty: Options have become a standard part of employee compensation, especially at hot tech firms. For shareholders, this means their stake in the business slowly gets diluted. To hide this expense, management will often buy back shares. You can’t do that with dividends.

4. Dividends Show Who’s Boss: CEOs represent just another employee. It’s us shareholders that own the place. When management raises the dividend, they let us know who’s boss.

5. Dividends Kill Egos: Managers want to expand their empires, regardless of whether this growth pays off for shareholders. You often see this happen through mergers, overpriced acquisitions, and wasteful side projects. But while guiding over a bigger firm might stoke egos, happy executives won’t fund your retirement. Dividends, in contrast, enforce discipline. If half of corporate profits get reserved for owners, management won’t pick new projects willy-nilly.

6. Dividends Help You Sleep at Night: V. . .vol. . .volatility has become a swear word among my readers. The second you mention the dreaded “V” word, bad memories spring up. Dividend stocks, though, tend to have fewer ups and downs than their non-dividend-paying peers. And when “Mr. Market’s” mood turns sour, dividend stocks also tend to drop less. For me, at least, that means fewer sleepless nights.

7. Dividends Deliver in Good Times and Bad: Analystsfear economic growth could fizzle out. Will they be right? Who knows. But even if business stalls, you could do worse than dividends. If the growth side of equities fail to deliver, dividends can crank out good returns.

Not every stock should pay a dividend. New firms need money for growth. If management can invest my wealth productively, I’m happy to forgo my payments.

Such plays don’t come up that often, though. And for each executive with a great project on their plate, 10 are full of crap. For that reason, I’ll stick to stocks paying out big, growing distributions.

Dear Reader: There is no magic formula to getting rich. Success in investment vehicles with the best prospects for price appreciation can only be achieved through proper and rigorous research and analysis. We are 100% independent in that we are not affiliated with any bank or brokerage house. Information contained herein, while believed to be correct, is not guaranteed as accurate. Warning: Investing often involves high risks and you can lose a lot of money. Please do not invest with money you cannot afford to lose. The opinions in this content are just that, opinions of the authors. We are a publishing company and the opinions, comments, stories, reports, advertisements and articles we publish are for informational and educational purposes only; nothing herein should be considered personalized investment advice. Before you make any investment, check with your investment professional (advisor). We urge our readers to review the financial statements and prospectus of any company they are interested in. We are not responsible for any damages or losses arising from the use of any information herein. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. All registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners

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